The goal of this course is to promote equal opportunity and the full participation of students with disabilities in higher education by helping participants advance their awareness of the meaning of accessibility in education. Participants will gain competence and confidence in working with students by focusing on legislation, universal design, and assistive technologies. Thank you to Abbas (Bobby) Husain Quamar, Graduate Student Researcher in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology at the University of Pittsburgh, for his contributions to the course.

From the lesson

Introduction

Students come to our higher education classrooms with a wide variety of knowledge, skills, talents, and abilities. As educators, we want all of our students to be successful and feel supported in an inclusive learning environment. Many of our students have disabilities that they may or may not disclose to faculty and staff. Typically, the process of providing required documentation and identifying appropriate accommodations is a collaborative effort between the student and the disability services staff. Faculty are not a part of this process and may not be aware of the rationale or implications. In this week, we will begin with an introduction to students with disabilities. Week 1 highlights the key United States legislation that relates to higher education students with disabilities and describes the process of obtaining support services.